In the past, in various technology fields, dyes have been widely used. To take an example, in the photoelectric conversion device field such as a solar cell, dyes are used for a dye-sensitized photoelectric conversion device using a dye having photosensitization action. In the dye-sensitized photoelectric conversion device, high efficiency is able to be expected theoretically. In addition, the dye-sensitized photoelectric conversion device is regarded as a device that is significantly advantageous on the cost front more than an existing photoelectric conversion device using silicon semiconductor.
The dye-sensitized photoelectric conversion device has an electrode having oxide semiconductor as a dye support. In the dye-sensitized photoelectric conversion device, the dye absorbs incident light and is excited, and the excited dye injects electrons into the support. Thereby, photoelectron conversion is made. As the dye used for the dye-sensitized photoelectric conversion device, a ruthenium complex dye and an organic dye are known. In particular, the organic dye is comparatively stable and is able to be easily synthesized, and thus various studies have been made for the organic dye. Specifically, the technology using a cyanine dye having a carboxylic acid group as an anchor group for being absorbed to the oxide semiconductor electrode together with a structure in which an indolenine skeleton is bonded with both ends of a methine chain skeleton for the purpose of improving conversion efficiency or the like has been known (for example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2). Such a cyanine dye is used as a dye for an optical filter and an optical recording material as well (for example, refer to Patent Document 3).